Knives
by Permanently
Summary: Andria was nothing before the FAYZ, and her life changes when she starts hanging with a different crowd—the wrong crowd. Death now follows her in the FAYZ, will it finally catch up to her? Possible romance in later chapters.
1. Chapter 1

The sun beat down on the plaza, illuminating every crevice that the stony ground had. It was twelve o'clock sharp, the sun exactly overhead as the crowd stood in shock. Sam Temple had recently—less than three minutes ago—given the entirety of Perdido Beach, as well as the few kids from Coates Academy, a speech. _Powers_. People had developed powers.

Andria Jones, along with the majority of the people in the plaza, couldn't believe what they had heard. Of course, there had always been talk about the 'magic tricks,' but this was the first time anybody in a place of authority, especially Sam Temple, had admitted to it. All of the littles had been gathered up from their roughhousing and naps to hear the spiel, and they were probably the most enthusiastic group there.

A child, Andria estimated to be about age six, broke the silence. "Just like Spiderman! Sam, what power do I got?"

Sam's response was slow. "Well... You see, not all of you might have powers. Some started awhile ago, and some are just showing up. To be honest, even I'm still getting used to it."

An older kid spoke up this time, a mocking tone to his voice. "So, what power do you have?" It was obvious that he didn't believe.

Sam didn't speak, he just raised his hands up as an answer, and then, almost timidly, his hands started to radiate. Green orbs seemed to float in his palms as the crowd gasped. It was the color that Andria would describe as a meadow shade. A green, the exact shade of the grass that used to reside in Perdido Beach's gardens. Except, unlike the grass, Sam's vivid light didn't dull to an ugly shade of yellowy brown when not looked after. At the same time, it looked like uranium.

"Ha! So what, you can glow. Next you're going to tell me that I can make flowers sprout just by thinking about it." It was the same boy who had asked him what he could do. His face showed scorn, disapproval.

Sam's voice was grave. "These are weapons, and that's why I'm asking people who've noticed that they have powers to refrain from hurting anybody." It wasn't exactly a demand, nor a threat, but it had the air of authority that Sam carried everywhere he went. Of course, he wasn't the main person in charge. Caine was. Sam was just doing the speech.

"Doesn't look like a weapon to me. What're you going to do, blind me to death?" Once again, it was the boy who had spoken before.

Sam turned around, his back now facing the crowd. He raised his hand higher, palms aimed towards an abandoned shop's sign, no kids anywhere near it. In an instant, green shot from his hands, towards the shop. It hit two meters away from his target, leaving a large black scorch mark in its wake.

Sam turned back towards the boy, and replied, in a joking tone, "Guess I missed." The boy had ticked him off, yet Sam had still kept his composure.

_That's why he's one of the leaders_, Andria thought. _Always keeping it cool_. She forgot about everything else, and headed her attention at Sam again. He was speaking.

"That's about it." He said, relieved that it was over. He had started to walk away, but a pointed glare from Astrid had stopped him. "Oh! And, we're kind of short on town helpers, so if you're interested in helping out, stop by the town office. And trust me; we need a lot of help." Half of the crowd had left by the time he finished it, uninterested about working. Even Andria had started to leave, but she had still heard it.

_I guess I'll just have to accept it._ Andria thought, dumbfounded. _I wonder if I'll get a power. I hope so, it would be cool. Wait... What if people notice me because of it? I take it back. I don't want a power._

Alexandria Jones had always been bland, at best. She was smart, yet not a genius. Pretty, yet not gorgeous. If the townies of Perdido Beach had been casted in a movie, she would have been an extra. She barely even liked to be seen. She accepted that, welcomed it even. She had even made people call her Andria, since she didn't like her full name, thinking it was too long and too bold for a girl like her. Even 'Alex' seemed too flashy for her.

Andria considered her worst trait to be her self-consciousness, and at the same time, it was her best. That fault would make her strive for perfection, in fear of getting mocked. In the end, she did things almost perfectly, but she was fearful of everyone who looked at her, if only for a second.

_Stop that way of thinking, Andria Jones!_ She thought, giving herself a mental pep-talk. _It's a new world now, so start a new life. Be a new person! Ride on your own spirit, not on the coattails of Stephanie!_

The thought of Stephanie brought a sour cringe to Andria. The sisters were the exact opposite: while Andria had always liked to be in the shadows, Stephanie had been in the spotlight. Stephanie, being a loving sister, had tried to make Andria more approachable, but she had just rejected any offer of help.

When people thought of Andria, which was rare, they thought of Stephanie. After all, Stephanie had taken her under her polished wing. When Andria had reached high school, she'd had no friends. Stephanie had given her more than a place to sit at a lunch table. She'd given her a shred of self-confidence, which, for Andria, was a lot.

Andria compared herself to the Moon. The moon only showed one side of itself to the public, and only came out at night, with the rare day appearance. To make things even weirder, the Moon reflected the sun's—Stephanie's—light. The moon itself had no glow, whatsoever.

_Stop being such a downer!_ Her inner social trainer said. _Fresh life, remember? Now, go haul your sorry behind to Town Hall and get a job! Maybe if you did your part, people would think of you as nice!_

The inner pep-talk voice had gotten to her. Andria started walking towards Town Hall, only to realize that she didn't know where it was. She'd never even been there. It was the place you went if you had a problem with the way things were, and she'd been perfectly content with how the things worked. A person couldn't even find it just by looking at the buildings, because it blended in with the size of buildings around it.

She knew what had to happen next. She dreaded it. She had to ask for directions.

It took her two tries. The first time she asked, she had gone up to a boy three times the size of her. She stuttered for what seemed like hours, but what had actually been seconds. In the end, she ran away. The second time, she went up to girl. Thirteen or so, around her age. Or maybe a tad younger. Andria prepared to be rejected, but the girl had simply pointed and smiled. Andria, shocked, had mumbled her thanks and walked away towards Town Hall.

The building's inside was crowded with busy teenagers. Diana Ladris stood, wide-eyed, behind the mahogany receptionist counter in the corner of the room. Andria could tell that they weren't here for jobs. They all had frowns on their faces, and about ninety percent of them were yelling. All were boys, because girls would've had more class with the matter. Complaints were being screamed, every boy trying to be heard over one another.

"Why is the Church still messed? Someone needs to fix the cross!"

"Where is all the ice-cream?"

"How come Caine isn't doing anything?"

Loud opinions rushed into Andria's ears, and she instantly sent her hands to her ears. Something was wrong... The sound was way too loud, and there seemed to be double the voices as kids in the room.

Taking a deep breath, she walked over to Diana, taking the pathway with the least kids in the way. She was cut short by a voice, Diana's voice, yelling.

"Everybody out!" It was the loudest voice there, and the only feminine one. A hush fell over the room as Diana Ladris stepped out from behind the receptionist counter. "If you're not here for a job, get the _hell _out of my face!" The boys complied.

Only Andria was left standing, and she knew she had to make the first move.

"You look like you need a receptionist." She said, with one of the rare smiles she gave out to friends.

"Are you offering?" Andria had meant it as a joke, but Diana didn't take it as one. _Take it_, _just please, take it. _The inner voice urged. But... the voice wasn't hers. She must have just been hearing things.

"I guess I am, so will you hire me?" She asked, tensing for rejection.

Diana walked over and held out her hand. "Diana Ladris." _Oh, please._ Andria thought. _As if you need to introduce yourself. Everybody already knows who you are. _Regardless, she took Diana's hand.

"Alexandria Jones." If she was going to start anew, she would get rid of her old nickname. Alexandria sounded more professional, anyways.

"Town Hall opens at six in the morning. You start tomorrow."

_Yup, life will get better._ But still, deep in the back of her head, Andria couldn't stop thinking about what could go wrong.

* * *

**A/N: Started off slow, but the next chapter will get better. I just needed to introduce things, and this felt like a good place to cut it off. And, as I said, there _miiight _be romance in the later chapter. If I ever get out of this damn writer's block. :l**


	2. Chapter 2

**I forget the disclaimer. Silly me!**

**Michael Grant owns Gone, not me. If I had owned Gone, I wouldn't be writing fanfiction about it.**

**First song is 'Lovefool' by the Cardigans. 'Kids with Guns' by Gorillaz is the second song mentioned, although no lyrics were written down.**

* * *

Town Hall was a mess. Things that once sat on the receptionist counter were now scattered across the floor. The calming paintings of Perdido Beach's Oceans were no longer on the walls. They had been torn off in hopes of hitting something—or someone—behind the counter. The only real thing that had stayed intact was the room's paintjob, which was a refreshing shade of baby blue. Not a neon blue, but merely a blue mixed with so much white. Perdido Beach's main industry was fishing, so the Town Hall reflected on that. Tourists adored it.

Andria Jones stepped into the office in shock. Surely, she had seen it yesterday, but she didn't think it had been that bad.

_Oh, shit! _Andria thought; with one of her frequent swear words. She didn't curse to people, because some people were against it, but her thoughts were teeming with them. _What if Caine or Diana gets mad at me for doing a shitty job? Damn it... I'll get fired for sure._

She looked to the clocked. 5:03. _Yes!_ She thought_. I'll have time to clean it up._

She started with the paintings, hanging them back on their hooks. Next, she bent down to the floor, picking up the things that once sat on the counter. She set them in their rightful place, and then looked to the floor. Little specks of paper adorned the floor, too small for her hands to pick up. She looked around, and headed to the janitor's closet.

"Thank God for vacuums." she said as she pulled one out.

It had taken her less time than expected, so she sat down in the chair behind the counter. She had forty-five minutes before the office opened. The computer screen in front of her had survived unharmed, it's blank screen only showing one thing. Her reflection.

_SHIT!_ She thought as she studied her appearance. _I'd been so caught up in worrying that I forgot about how I looked._ Her blonde hair was pulled back into the ponytail she'd slept in, little hairs sticking up every which way. She was wearing a plain red tee and average jeans, but the bottoms had been ripped off ages ago.

_Wait... I can make it! My house isn't that far!_ She thought, praising her missing mom for buying a house near the plaza.

She set off at a heavy sprint, running down a street to her right. She wasn't the fastest, but she wasn't the slowest. Another one of her mediums. On her way, she passed a group of teenagers. They didn't even notice her, because a person running like mad was normal in the FAYZ.

She skidded to a halt in front of a white Victorian, and then quickly turned on one heel and ran to the door. Being inside her house brought back old and sad memories, but she shoved them away. _Later_. She told herself. _I'll mourn later._

She ran up the stairs, leading into a hallway with the sister's bedrooms. She was about to go in her room when a thought stopped her. She only had bland clothes. Stephanie, on the other hand, had a wardrobe full of different things.

Andria slowly walked to Stephanie's door, widening her eyes as she opened the door. Stephanie's room was as bad as the office, before Andria got to it. Hair products adorned the floor, which Andria carefully stepped over. Andria had a feeling that her elder sister was watching her, ready to get mad if she stepped on anything. Regardless, she headed to the closet.

There were so many things to pick from, but Andria had chosen the least bold things. A black skirt with three tiers of ruffles, and an ivory blouse—Not too childish, not too old-lady-like.

_Ah, hell. Shoes_. Andria thought. She only had sneakers. _Guess that means I'll have to take some of Stephanie's... _She picked out a pair of black flats, which were a size too big for her. She'd had to fill the points of the shoes with toilet paper, but they still semi-fit.

She went to the mirror to check out the damage on her hair. It wasn't greasy, but something told her she should leave it up in something else. She followed the instinct, letting it down, brushing it, and then putting it back up into a bun where the tips of her hair fanned out at the top. Her bangs had been left out, so she quickly flat ironed them.

She looked to her sister's alarm clock, gaping when she read the time. 5:45. She had fifteen minutes to waste. Make-up, her mind screamed. Andria had never been one for make-up, but now seemed like an appropriate time to start. She rummaged through her sister's floor, looking for things that wouldn't be too flashy. Three minutes of searching later, and she found a set of neutrals.

_Finally... Done._ Andria thought. She didn't get how Stephanie had liked to do that every single morning.

She glanced around the room, taking in the sights. _She's gone... She's really gone_. Andria had bad thoughts towards her sister, but deep inside, she loved her. Stephanie was just a bit... pushy. In the middle of her staring, she caught sight of something. An iPod speaker system, with a silver iPod sticking out of the platform.

_Of course! _Andria thought. _Stephanie's music is just monotonous, quiet, calming stuff! _She rushed to grab one of Stephanie's many bags to fit the dock into, iPod included.

She sat there for a minute, and then stood up when she thought she should leave. Andria felt a horrible gush between her legs, and she ran to the bathroom.

_Fuck my life._ She thought towards the giant red stain. Why does this always happen in bad situations! She put on some protection and headed back to Stephanie's room. I certainly don't want to smell... like that. She thought as she sprayed herself with the closest bottle of perfume she could find. The smell intoxicated her, but it was worth it.

Andria looked to the glowing blue numbers of the alarm clock. Three minutes to six. Rushing, Andria ran down the stairs but nearly tripped. She hastily took off the flats and headed out the door, a bag in one hand and shoes in the other.

Andria found herself humming along with Stephanie's music. She had set up the speaker on the corner of the receptionist counter, and the remote was by her hand. She hadn't guessed the full potential of Stephanie's music. Despite the fact that she was a girly girl, Stephanie had all sorts of vile music on her iPod. Andria found herself thinking rude thoughts towards her sister. _Huh, I guess that the bitch had another side after all. Then again, so do I._

Andria pressed the little right arrow that indicated the next song, and started humming along to the melody.

_Dear, I fear we're facing a problem; you love me no longer. I know and maybe there is nothing that I can do, to make you do._

The day had gone by quickly, and quite boring. All Andria had done was talk to people about their complaints and threats against Caine. Andria had just sat and nodded, writing down what people had said on sticky notes.

The only highlight of her day had been when Diana came in, and told her not to let anybody through to Caine. When Andria asked how she would have to turn them away, Diana simply responded about making up a lie about him being in a meeting or that they needed an appointment.

Andria was starting to regret saying the comment about needing a receptionist. Diana hadn't praised her, or even said her thanks.

The office was moderately quiet, the only sound coming from the speaker to her left. Her thoughts drifted, straying from things like her family to such trivial matters as what to wear tomorrow.

_I wonder if my parents are safe... My dad wasn't even in town when the giant wall thing came up. _It was true: her dad hadn't been in town. Mason Jones was in Afghanistan when it happened, fighting for his country._ I hope my mom's alright. I wonder if she's watching over me right now, telling me to go to the family shop. Good luck getting me to, bitch._ The 'family shop' was actually a butcher shop, filled with dead cows and chopped up pigs. Andria despised the place, as she was forced to work there in the summers, helping to chop up smaller animals. The sight was gross, but it gave Andria the resistance to being squeamish.

A loud _thud _snapped her back to reality. A boy was storming his way into the office, not even giving her a second glance. He was tall, with sandy blonde hair. He would have been cute, had it not been for the gun slung on his back. The song on the iPod had changed, now on '_Kids with Gun_s' by Gorillaz. _Fitting._ Andria thought.

"When the hell did Caine get a secretary?" He said, his face turned away.

"I started today." Andria said, attempting to put on a professional tone.

"Does it look like I care?" He said, his voice finally ringing a bell in Andria's mind. _He's with Caine! What do I do? Do I send him in, or do I do what Diana said and tell him that he's in a meeting? _Her mind was racing.

"Well, you kind of asked, and you can't go in to see Caine. Diana's orders."

He gave her the weirdest look, like she was talking nonsense, and then walked for the door that lead to Caine's office.

She stepped up from her chair, and then walked around to grab his arm. "I said you can't go in there."

Finally, he turned to face her. "_What a bitch."_ He spoke through unmoving lips.

Andria gaped, staring, mouth hanging open. How the hell did he say that without his mouth moving? She pushed the thought away, passing it off as hallucinating.

"Don't call me that!" She said. She may have been shy and self-conscious, but she still stood up for herself when people called her names. Her mom had told her not to, that a bully only wanted a reaction, but in high school, you didn't just sit around and take things.

"I didn't call you anything. I didn't even speak to you!" He said, disgust was written on his face.

"Yes, you did. You called me a bitch!" She was pissed. It was one thing to call a girl that, but another to deny it.

"What a freak. I didn't even speak to her and she said that I called her a bitch. She is a bitch though." He said, once again, through a still mouth.

Andria couldn't deny it anymore. His lips weren't moving, but his voice was ringing out in the room. _He must have a weird power._ She thought.

"You just said, and I quote _'What a freak. I didn't even speak to her and she said that I called her a bitch. She is a bitch though._' Don't even try getting out of this, I heard you loud and clear!" Why couldn't he just accept that she'd heard him and move on with things?

Realization flashed in the boy's face, as he shot his hand out and gripped her throat, dragging her through the door with him. Caine woke up from his nap with a start, a pile of unfinished paperwork on his mahogany desk.

"What the hell, Drake?" He snapped at Drake, obviously mad at him for waking him up. He put his hand out and then swiped it across air. All of a sudden, Drake released his hold on her neck and was shot against the wall, face first.

"She's got the power, you dumbass! Even Diana said so!" Drake yelled, still pressed against the wall.

"I think I know that, Drake." And then, he added with unmoving lips. "_What the hell is she? She's only a one bar, so why's Drake bringing her in here? One bars are useless!"_

Andria was angry at being kept in the dark. She addressed Caine. "What the _hell_ is a one bar and why do you keep calling me that?"

Caine looked to her, his arm still extended in the air. "Excuse me? How do you know the term one bar?"

"You just said it, and then you said that one bars are useless." Andria was furious, but she still couldn't help thinking about if she was going to get hurt for using this tone.

Caine did a double take. First, he was staring at her like she was nothing, and then, in an instant, things changed. He screamed out. _"Yes! _I knew that when powers developed that there would be a mind reader! I knew it! " He had stood up, and his hand dropped, releasing his hold on Drake.

"I told you I'd figured it out. Was there any need to throw me against a wall?" Drake was rubbing his shoulder, on a spot that had taken most of the impact.

"Actually Drake, there was." Diana said, as she walked into the room. "It's a shame I didn't get to see it happen, _again_."

"Shut up, Diana." Drake spat. If it weren't for Caine being in the room, he would've shot her by now.

"Make me, psychopath!" Diana shot back.

"Believe me, I will!"

"Shut up, both of you." Caine said, obviously bored of seeing them fight.

"Fine." Diana said, crossing her arms across her chest. She looked towards Andria. "Have you found out her power yet?" Her face was filled with scorn.

"Why, yes, _I_ have. She's a mind reader." Drake said, obviously proud that he found something out before her.

Diana didn't quite believe him. "Show me. What am I thinking?" And then, when her lips stopped moving, she sent a silent thought throughout the air.

Andria didn't know how to put it, or if she should say it at all. "Well... You called him" she turned to Drake "a psychotic loser who gets off on watching people scream..."

Drake started towards Diana, but Caine put his hand out and he stopped. It wasn't that hard for Andria to guess what his power was.

Andria turned towards Diana. "He's thinking about how he's going to hurt you when Caine isn't looking. Along with... other violent thoughts."

"Oh, I already know that. You don't need a power to be able to tell that." Diana said, looking at his face.

"Would you two just shut up for a minute? I'm tired of all your fake death threats." Caine said, ticked off. He turned to Andria. "You can leave if you want."

Oh, she wanted to, and she did.

* * *

Andria didn't want to go home. She didn't want to go somewhere that was filled with memories, but she needed comfort. She needed a friend. Her only friend. She also needed to test out her new power.

Jillian Woods' house was not far from hers, so she headed there. The porch light was on, and Andria immediately knew that Jill was home. Jill and Andria had been friends before the FAYZ, but not extremely close. They talked between classes and hung out after school, but there was never any precious moments shared between the two_. Maybe this will be what brings us closer_, Andria thought.

When Andria knocked on the door, a child answered. Jill's little sister, Megan, answered the door.

Her six-year-old face beamed with excitement when she saw Andria. "Andria!" She squeeled, and then preceded to jump on her.

Jill, having heard the commotion, walked to the door.

"Hey Jill." Andria said with a slight smile, an extatic Megan still wrapped around her waist. "Mind if I come in?"

"Sure." Jill was happy to see her friend, honest, but she's not the type of person to show it.

They walked into the main room, complete with two sofas and a flat screen.

"So, what bring you to our humble abode, besides wanting more crackers?" Jill said, using an inside joke between the two. And then, when she stopped talking, Andria heard more. "Oh please... please ask to stay with us! I need a friend! Please, please, please! It's lonely with just Megan, and I need help getting used to this! I need my friend!"

Andria took her up on her mental offer, even if Jill didn't know that she sent one. "I wanted to ask if I could stay with you guys... since... y'know... Stephanie's gone."

Jill was obviously happy, but she tried to hide it. "Sure. You can take Amy's old room." Amy _was _Jill's older sister. She disappeared in the poof.

Andria swooped in on Jill to give her a hug. "Thanks, Jill. Really. _Thanks_." She pulled away, still holding Jill's forearms. "I have some errands to do before I come back though, and I need to get some of my clothes. I'll see you in about an hour." She smiled and headed out the door.

She didn't actually have errands to do, she just needed to test out her powers.


	3. Chapter 3

Andria walked quickly along the cold sidewalk, arms folded across her chest. _Why is it so damn dark out for eight?_ She thought. _It's like the wall wants us all to go to bed early or something crazy like that._

_I miss Jane... I hope she comes back._ This thought wasn't hers; it was a boy's voice, slowly fading out from her mind as she walked away.

Andria would never again walk the streets alone. She had heard so many thought, so many violent actions depicted in people's mind, to last her a lifetime. Almost half of the people she passed had their minds on either alcohol or drugs, and the other half was preoccupied with the mourning of loved ones.

_People need to get over it. It'll happen when it happens, not when we all start whining about it. _She thought towards a fourteen year old boy, crying. But still... she felt a pang of sadness as she walked by him.

She was at the park by now. She didn't really know where she was going, but she decided to stop there. She sat on one of the rickety swings, making it creak when her weight was placed on it.

_Jill will be wondering where I am by now... _Andria had been out for two hours, first stopping at her house to raid Stephanie's closet, and then returning to Jill's to drop it off. Then, she headed out again, only to go nowhere.

She heard the thoughts before the actions hit her, but her legs were too tired to avoid it.

The cold shock of metal hit her temple as a gun was pressed to her head.

"Fine." She said, trying to sound bored. It didn't really work. Her mother had told her that all a bully wanted was a reaction, and for once, she was listening to her advice. But still, when a gun was up against your head, the only option you had was to obey.

"What?" Drake said, stepping out of the shadows.

"I said, 'fine,' as in, 'fine, I'll do your stupid tasks.' Isn't that what you wanted?"

"Well, yeah. Do you know what I want you to do, exactly?" There was a cold tone to his voice, one that said he would shoot her at a moment's notice. His thoughts said the same.

"Actually, yes. You just thought about it. You want me to spy on Caine, along with other people you don't trust. If I don't comply, or go against it, you'll shoot Jill and Megan. If I do it again after that, you'll shoot me. Am I correct?" She said, slowly glancing towards him, the gun moving with her head.

"Good, saves me having to say it. Now hurry up. We're leaving." Before he turned around, he hit her with the pistol. Not hard enough to make her black out, but still hard enough to make her head throb. They started walking on the sidewalk.

"Harsh." She mumbled, rubbing her head.

"Shut up, useless one bar." He said, under his breath. Andria still heard it.

"I wouldn't be talking, no bar. And besides, if I'm so useless, why are you making me do this?" She shot back.

He spun around to face her. "I meant useless as in _'can't fight_.' It doesn't seem like you can shoot a gun, or even have the stomach to see blood."

_What an asshole. No wonder Diana hates him so much._ She thought. _I'll teach him about that last comment he made. Who would've thought? Maybe working at mom's shop really was preparation for the real world after all. Just not the business world._

* * *

They stopped outside a house that Andria didn't know. The windows were broken, and the whole place emitted the pungent smell of alcohol.

"Can you read through walls?" Drake whispered, gun once again pressed hard against her head.

"I don't know... I can hear bits and pieces, but not coherent thoughts. I'll need more practice." She said, straining to hear the unspoken words. "Where are we, anyways?"

"_Captain_ Orc's house." He said with a sneer. "I don't think he's fully on board with the Coates kids."

"Well, how the hell am I going to hear through the wall?"

"You're not... Just follow me." He started towards the door.

They stood on the steps, Andria two feet behind Drake. He knocked on the door, and as soon as it was answered, thoughts and feelings rushed into her, like opening an oven on high. She fell to the ground, screaming and clutching her head.

Drake looked at her like she was an idiot. "What the hell are you doing? _Get up_!" He pointed the gun on her head again.

Howard had answered the door, and witnessed the scene in front of him. "What are you doing here, Drake?" He said, over the screaming.

Suddenly, the thoughts of guilt and pain twisted into feelings of hatred as Orc stumbled to the door, drunk. She stood up, her hands still pressed to her head, shaking.

"Sorry... Migraine." She said, rubbing her eyes.

Drake shut her up with a stare. "Whatever, freak." He turned to Orc. "There's a fight in the square. Help break it up."

Orc mumbled a reply, and pushed passed them out the door. Howard, being the little lackey he is, followed after him.

"Did you read it?" Drake said, once they were out of sight.

"No shit, dumbass! Why do you think I fell to the ground, screaming?" She said, and then all the anger dissipated. "All he thought about was killing that girl... Bette. And then, when he saw you, all the feelings turned angry. Other than that, he's pretty neutral. As long as he has a little bit of power and alcohol, he's happy."

"We've got one more stop tonight. Come on." He said, turning away down the street.

"No. It's late, and I have things to do. Besides, if every task you have me do is that painful, you might as well shoot me." She felt so... mean. She wanted to feel mean. Right now, all she wanted to do was hurt somebody. She wanted to watch their life's essence spill out of them. She felt like people deserved to die. She felt like Drake.

For the second time today, she grabbed her head and fell to the ground, this time with no screaming. When the door had opened and Orc's full force of feelings hit Andria, she had been devastated, and overwhelmed by grief. Orc's grief. When she was even a little bit close to some like Drake, she felt like hurting somebody.

"Oh God... I'm you!" She screamed, pointing at Drake. "I feel like you!"

"What the hell do you mean?" Drake said, gun aimed at her torso, just as a precaution.

"I mean I'm absorbing your feelings, you sick creep!" And then she got up ran.

Andria could feel the anger slowly leave her as the distance greatened, but a little of that hate still stayed in her. She didn't know where she was headed. She just ran. She was glad that she had changed into something more fitting earlier—sneakers, knee-length shorts, and a cream coloured tee shirt. It wasn't cold in the FAYZ. Actually, it was pretty warm.

After what seemed like hours of running, she finally stopped. She was by the beach, off to the side of the Marina. She could see the slight outline of boats rocking in the water, getting raided for food by kids. There were about eight or nine, but they didn't notice her.

Her kneecaps screamed in pain as she lifted her legs up to take off her shoes. She slowly walked over to the ocean and gently put her blistered feet into the water. Her whole body protested against it until she soaked her toes, letting the salty brine run free over her skin.

She stayed in the water for a long time, just standing there with her eyes closed. _I think I'm getting the hang of this power_. She thought, completely relaxed. She couldn't hear the hungry thoughts of those by the docks. _I can block out everybody around me now._

Her thoughts were cut short when an arm wrapped around her from behind, squeezing her neck and dragging her back onto land. The attacker's other hand came around from the other side, and pressed a knife to her throat.

"You stupid freak!" The assailant said, a waver in his voice._ "You killed my sister!"_

"I didn't kill anybody! I'm not a freak!" Andria said as quietly as her voice allowed. The attack had surprised her—her guard was down.

Andria was breathing so hard that the knife cut into her throat, a small slice of red in a sea of tan. The attacker was scared, and it transferred into her. Her heart was beating fast, so fast, that the blood spilled over the side of the cut more quickly, leaving little red trails in her tan shirt.

"Yes, you are a freak! That guy with Caine even called you one! All you freaks deserve to _die!" _The attacker was trembling, his mind replaying the events that happened. Andria heard it all.

"Listen." She said, calming down slightly. "I know that your friend killed your little sister. He was still getting used to his power. And, so am I. I can't hurt you by reading your mind. _Let me go." _She said, putting as much influence in her words as she could.

The attacker pulled back, and started to weep. Silent tears fell down his cheeks as he put his hands to his face. "I loved her so much..."

Andria felt pity for the boy, along with the sadness that he gave her. She turned around and put her hand on his shoulder, comforting him. "It's alright." She cooed. "Not everybody is like that..."

The boy still had thoughts of harming people with powers. He still had the desire to go on killing, seeking out revenge. Andria couldn't let that happen. She couldn't sit back and watch as others died because she had let him go free. She knew what had to happen.

In one swift motion, she grabbed the knife from the crying boy's hand. He reacted, but not quickly enough. The knife caught a little bit of him to the right of his ribcage, but he still had the urge to live. He lunged for her, avoiding the knife. She pulled back, having heard that thought in his mind.

She swung out with her left fist, which he deftly dodged by leaning to his left, or Andria's right. When he was focused on her left hand, her other hand—holding the knife—snaked out from behind her back and caught him spot on in the heart, instantly making the boy fall to his knees. Andria fell with him. The ribs were hard to get by, but with a lot of extra pushing and manuevering the knife, and in the end, getting up and stomping on it, she was able to kill him. The crime scene wasn't clean, at all. She could practically watch as his spirit disappeared. His thoughts slowly faded into nothing in his last moments.

"Fighting is pretty easy when you know your opponent's moves." She said to the dead body, face up in the sand. She had to get out of here soon—someone with the desire to kill was near the docks. After all, that's how she'd defeated the boy. She couldn't have killed somebody all by herself.

She couldn't wield a gun, but she could use blades. Drake was right, in only one sense. She didn't have any weapons. She didn't need guns. She needed knives.


	4. Chapter 4

It was ten o'clock, the sun virtually nowhere in sight. Andria walked quietly up to Jill's house, where she was staying, and slowly turned the door. The old hinges creaked a little, but other than that, she was able to slip by unnoticed. She headed to the bathroom, grabbing a small cloth from the kitchen.

The damage to her clothes was irreversible. The slight cut on her neck would heal in time, visible as it slowly faded away. It was higher up on her neck, shifted slightly to the left.

_Turtlenecks can't cover up this sucker._ She thought, gently prodding the wound, assessing the depth. _This stings like a bitch_.

She cleaned it up, wrapping toilet paper around her neck. She tip-toed into Amy's room, the room Jill had offered her. She had stashed all of Amy's possessions into the walk-in closet, leaving hers in the drawers. Andria got an old white shirt, originally hers, and raided the room for scissors, finding a pair behind the dresser. She cut the shirt into strips, took the make-shift bandage off, and slowly—as well as painfully—secured the wound around her neck.

_Clothes,_ she thought. _I need clean clothes_.

She put on a new pair of pyjamas, and picked up her blood-soaked clothing. _I need to dispose of this_, she thought. _I need to get rid of this. Before anybody finds out._

She slowly slipped outside, this time taking the quiet backdoor.

Where to put it... So little options. Her ideal way to wipe away the evidence was to start a fire and burn the clothes, but that would draw the attention of people. Also, Andria couldn't contain a fire.

Suddenly, a thought hit her. The neighbour's house! Jill's neighbour was a short, nineteen year old athlete, who disappeared in the poof. _I can hide the clothes there! S_he thought, hopeful. She never thought that this would be her biggest problem in life—where to hide your bloody, death infested clothes?

When she got to the house, she quickly mapped the house out for the best place to hide something. She chose the attic crawl-space, absolutely teeming with spiders and cobwebs.

She walked back to Jill's house in style. Well, stylish shoes as least. The neighbour had the same size feet as her, and since Andria's own shoes were soaked in blood, she'd decided to borrow herself a pair. Indefinitely.

She took the front door again, using the logic _'if they didn't hear me before, why wake up now?'_

"Andria?" said a blurry eyed Megan, just walking out of the kitchen. A midnight snack, no doubt.

"Go back to sleep, Megan. My errands just took a little longer than expected." Andria said, bending down and rubbing the side of the six-year-old's cheek. Or was she five? Andria didn't remember. Megan complied, drowsily walking to her room.

Andria felt tired and dreamy, partly because she stayed up late, and partly because of all the running she'd done. Who knows, maybe even Megan's feelings contributed.

Regardless, Andria went straight to bed.

* * *

When walking to work, she felt protected. She dressed like herself—sort of—and she felt like herself. The neighbour's shoes, a light, knee length skirt, one of Stephanie's shirts, and a light cardigan. The usual.

And three hidden knives. A sharp, three-inch blade with a leather cover hidden in her right shoe (hence the sneakers), a pocketknife, closed and concealed in her bra, and finally, the most deadly of all. A large knife, stolen from her mom's butcher shop, bound in a light cloth and tied around her left leg, out of sight but easily accessible by her skirt.

_Yeah, I'd say I'm pretty well protected._ She thought, heading into the office of Town Hall. She walked to her desk, only to find a blazing neon sticky note, saying that they had moved their office into the school to accommodate more rooms. At the bottom of the note, there was a little post script, saying the they—being the Coates kids—had taken Sam and his gang back up to Coates Academy. Andria knew who had wrote it. The script was too elegant to be a boy's.

_Better head out. _She thought, walking towards the school that had housed her entire education._ Never thought that I'd be comin' back here._

The local people who were filled with complaints were already there. She slipped behind the desk, already talking to the one in front. Standard procedure now, even after only one day of work.

A couple hours passed, noon coming in quickly as she wrapped up talking to people about complaints. She took on their personalities: one boy had been teary, and she had immediately felt the grief of losing a loved one. Later, a girl had showed up angry. She had spoken back to the girl, also mad about nothing.

She felt like silly putty, moulding into anybody on a whim. It was like one, massive mood swing. She sighed, stacking up the sheets of complaints. She had stopped looking into people's thoughts. Besides the fact that it was an invasion of privacy on their part, it was like watching a snuff film to her. People thoughts varied with their feelings, and a lot of people were pissed. Her last face had been angry, and she still held a little of that emotion.

She looked up from her sorting to see a young boy, about seven. He looked shy—and familiar.

"Can I help you with anything?" She asked, trying to twist the anger into compassion for the young boy.

"My brother is missing." He said, almost sheepishly. He was shy, so he stayed to the back of the crowd.

"What's his name? When did you last see him?" This wasn't the first missing person report. Many people had siblings who went missing, and it was her job to get names and details.

"Jackson Rice. The last time I saw him was when he went out to go find people."

"...Find people? Like, who exactly?"

"He got mad when his friend killed our sister, Shelly. It was an accident, but he didn't think so... I think he's trying to hunt him down." The memory brought tears to his eyes, but he held back, trying to be brave.

The thoughts screamed at Andria like an open book, and when she looked into his mind, she found the same film reel of events that she had seen in her attacker's mind. She had killed his brother.

She rolled her chair out from behind the desk, kneeling down in front of him. "I'm sorry, but they found his body down by the pier, early this morning." She tried to force as much compassion into her words as she could, but it wasn't enough. She seemed like a cold hearted person.

The little boy couldn't take it anymore. His sister had died. His brother had died. He burst into tears, and with all that strong emotion flowing out of him and into Andria, she did to. She pulled him into an embrace.

The little boy's sobs raged on and on, racking his body with each new wave of sorrow and pain. Andria finally had the strength to collect herself, and put her hand beneath his chin, tilting his face up to hers.

"Don't worry... It'll all be alright, you'll see." She said soothingly. A motherly instinct kicked in. All she wanted to do was hug this boy, and whisper sweet lies into his ears.

The little boy still sobbed, but not as much as before. He asked her questions that she couldn't answer. Where was he going to live, how was he going to get food. When the wall was coming down. He was too old for Mary, and too young to live on his own.

Andria only had one solution. "Stay with me... I'll make it all better." She hadn't known the boy had a little brother. It was the least she could do for the guy she'd killed.

"Really?" He said through the tears, rubbing his eyes.

"Yes, really."

* * *

Jill hadn't exactly been thrilled, but she allowed the boy to stay and even started to warm up to him. Megan, on the other hand, was ecstactic. She had tried to cheer the little boy up. It had taken them thirty minutes to coax his name out of him, with them cheering when he finally said the word 'Austin.'

Andria broke up the celebration. "Jill, I'm going to go get some food for dinner. Anything you need?"

"Nope!" She said, still excited by Austin's first word.

Andria ran down the street, wanting to breeze by all the thoughts of those around her. She turned up another road, but was cut off by a thought. The Healer. There had been talk about where she lived, and that she was open for healing anybody. Andria's cut was bothering her, so she decided to check it out.

When she got to Dahra's house, Dahra had said that she had just missed Lana, and that if she walked a block down the street, she'd find her at Elwood's.

Andria barely had time to walk away three houses because just then, a car came roaring down the street, stopping outside two houses from her. A tall figure with sandy blonde hair stepped out, with every limb but his right arm.

Andria couldn't help it. She burst out laughing, making the figure turn around. It didn't matter that all of his emotions were of anger, hatred, and rage. Her thoughts on karma were far stronger.

"What the hell are you laughing at!" Drake roared, stepping a few feet towards her, closing the twenty meter gap. Nothing was very funny to her in that situation, but she just felt it was a work of karma that his arm got cut off. An arm that he's killed with.

"Your arm! It's a stump!" she said, through giggles. She collected herself, little chuckles still seeping through her composure. "I take it you're trying to get Lana to heal it? I don't need a power to guess that."

"So what? I want my arm back. It's natural to have a need for both arms." He said, mocking her.

"I don't think she can heal something that's not there, Drake." Andria said, walking away.

"The hell she can! You'll see, bitch!" His left hand shakily reached for his gun, but Andria had already ran behind a house, knowing his next intention. He yelled a few more curses, damning her to hell, but didn't proceed to follow her.

Andria only had one thought._ Rest in Peace, kid who did that to him. I salute you__._


	5. Chapter 5

**A/N: Short. D: Usually my chapters need to have a minimum of 2,000 words, but this one has 1,011. It just felt like this was a good place to cut it off. **

* * *

Life went by at an awkward pace after that. Andria didn't know how long it had been since the Coates kids had left town. It could have been a day. It could have been a month. It could have been an hour. But that didn't matter. All that mattered was Austin.

He had become Andria's own family. They had bonded considerably over their few moments together. Of course, he was still getting over his two losses, but Andria was there to help him through it, even if she did cause one of them.

They still lived in Jill's house, and he was still getting used to the new house. He didn't like the house very much, and he always wanted to go on walks, dragging Andria out the door with him.

"So, whataya want for dinner tonight?" she asked him playfully. They were sitting cross legged in the plaza, in the area by the daycare, just watching the few clouds.

Austin thought about it for a second. "Mmm... Mac and Cheese!" he said, swinging his arms to his sides and pushing himself off the ground, and then pulling on Andria's arm until she gave in. She stood up, and in an instant, he was on her back.

"Hey!" she exclaimed, and fake stumbled under his weight. Andria was about to lead him home, but a sound stopped her. The lone howl of a coyote shocked her into paralysis. Hearing them howl was normal, but this... this was too loud... too close. A pack of rabid dogs, lead by a tall boy with an elongated arm, stepped into the square

She had no second thoughts. She bolted into the daycare, not bothering if she accidently ran into a kid. Andria's mind was racing, so many thoughts pouring into her as she let her defence down. _It couldn't be..._ she thought. But it was.

Andria pulled Austin off her back, unlocking his arms around her neck. She knelt down, eye level with him.

"_Stay here_." she said, and with the tone in her voice, Austin had no thoughts of disobeying.

She sprinted out of the door, only to be slammed back inside by an unknown red source. The whip snaked around in the air in front of her, seeming to show off.

She immediately knew who it was, powers or not.

"Drake." she said, spitting out blood.

"Long time no see, girl whose name I don't know." Drake said, a sneer on his murdering face. He brought his whip up into the air, slightly tilted toward the left, and then in a flash, he cracked it down, hard on her shoulder. Blood was already starting to seep into her shirt.

She screamed, partly in pain, but more so because Austin had ran up to her. She pushed him away, the force making him fall over. She yelled at him, screamed at him, to run away. Andria only wanted him to run, if only to the corner of the room. But he stayed.

Andria could see the sadistic smirk spread across Drake's face as he raised his whip on the little boy.

"I know you didn't betray me, but this is just showin' you what'll happen if you do. Plus, this is for laughing." he said, the grin still on his face as he tore his whip down through air. It hit with a sickening smack on his stomach, but Austin remained relatively unscathed, despite the fact that he was screaming. Andria let out a breath—she had thought Austin would've died.

And then she sucked her breath back, because Drake wasn't done. Drake wrapped the sickening whip around Austin's neck, smiling once again as the boy squirmed for air, grabbing and clawing at the unmoving whip. Andria watched, wide-eyed, as the life was pulled out of him. She had heard his last thought.

_Help me, Andria._

Andria screamed at him, called him every single violent thought she'd ever had about him, until she finally gave up and started sobbing. He had turned his attention to the little children, cowering behind Mother Mary. Some coyotes were by them, nipping at their heels.

Andria knew what to do. After all, there was only one thing _to_ do.

She reached her hand down the waistband of her jeans, earning a weird look from Drake. He finally understood when she pulled out the long knife that she always carried.

She ran towards him, aiming straight at his heart. Her emotions got the best of her, not letting her tap into his thoughts to see his next move. She as fighting on pure instinct, this time not getting the rage from anyone but herself.

_Stop!_ She told herself. _Calm down... Read his thoughts..._

She subsided the anger, and when she looked into his head for his next move, she couldn't find one.

She lunged for him again, but he just blocked her off, again, with no thoughts.

_What the shit! _She thought, momentarily paralyzed. _This guy doesn't even _think_ about how he's going to hurt people, he just _does_!_

She lost her footing, and stumbled to the right. Drake took the chance to slam her against the wall, which gained a terrible dent in it as soon as her force hit it. Andria slid down on the wall, falling to her left. Her whole world turned black, nothing visible. She couldn't see Drake going out to fight Orc. Couldn't see Sam trying hard to save Perdido Beach from Caine. Couldn't see the cold, lifeless body off Austin, on the ground near her.

She couldn't see anything, but then again, she didn't want to.


	6. Chapter 6

Andria had gotten the rundown from Jill. Apparently, Drake and Orc had fought in a one on one battle of mutations. Drake, with his whip, and Orc, with his... new body. Andria had never seen anything like it.

Jill and Andria were lying down on their backs on the beach, simply basking in the glorious sun and trying to forget about the battle a week and a half ago.

Jill wasn't acting as serious as she should be around death. She thought it was something to gossip over. "I heard that Caine's guy with the whip had to literally be dragged away from the fight. Hey, he's kinda cute. I mean, without the whip and everything. Oh! I also heard that he's a total freak. In his personality, not powers-wise. But still, powers are freaky." This perked Andria's interest.

"Really? I think that powers are okay... I mean, as long as you're not hurting anybody, then it seems safe." Andria said, trying to get a hold on Jill's manic thoughts. It wasn't hard, exactly, but it was tough to pick out the important thoughts.

"Oh no, Andria." she said in a joking motherly tone. "All powers are bad, harmful or not." Jill rolled over onto her stomach, hands under her chin, and watched Andria from the corner of her eye.

"Why do you say that? Are you prejudice against people with powers?" Andria said, still not quite serious, as she also rolled onto her Stomach.

Jill thought about it for a second. "Well... it's just not normal. I mean, it's creepy. You're not a freak, are you?" Jill said, almost sleepily. Lying down on the beach was tiring work.

"No, I don't have any powers." she lied, because it was clear in Jill's thoughts that she wouldn't want Andria as a friend if she was a freak. "I just think that people shouldn't hate them since they had no choice in the matter. It's not like they went into a store and _bought_ them of their own accord."

Jill rose onto her elbows. "Powers are what caused the war." she said, the now serious tone in her voice ending the conversation. She quickly changed the topic, not wanting to start a disagreement. "So, have you found Austin yet?"

Andria flinched at the memory. She hadn't had the heart to tell Megan what happened to Austin, and then Megan went off and told Jill what Andria had told her. Andria's cover up was that Austin had run off in fear and never came back.

She shoved the thought away. "No... I can't find him. I think he ran off to Coates to get away from everything here."

"We should sneak into Coates and look for him." Jill said jokingly, finally lifting herself off of the ground.

_Yeah, we really should sneak into Coates_. Andria thought, trying desperately not to say the next part out loud. _To kill a certain Drake Merwin_. She hefted herself off the ground and turned to Jill.

"That's just what I'll do. It's not that hard to drive there. We'll search for Austin." she said sheepishly, not sure if Jill would believe her. Jill's thoughts proved Andria's theory.

Jill looked doubtful that he would be there. "Andria, I really don't think he's there. I mean, he went to our school. It's not like he's suddenly going to run away to Coates Academy."

_Crap, crap, crap!_ Andria mind scrambled for answers, grabbing at loose ends. _Lie, you idiot!_ Her mind screamed at her.

"His brother went there." Andria blurted out, trying desperately to cover up her beet red face. "Jackson Rice. He was a bad kid so his parents sent him to Coates. He was on Caine's side. He died when the Coates kids first came here. Maybe Austin wants things of his brother's." Andria was rambling, something she did when she lied. Jill didn't notice. She never noticed.

_Ah, clueless Jill, how I've missed you_. Andria thought.

"That makes sense. I mean, if something happened to Megan, I'd want to have a little keepsake of her, y'know?" Jill said, squinting her eyes into the sunlight. "But before we go, could we like, wait a week? I want to do a few things here first, and just relax before we go."

"Yeah." Andria mumbled her agreement, "Things to do..." The only thing Andria wanted to do was at Coates.

* * *

It was five days later when Jill said she was done her errands, but she still wanted a day to lounge around. Jill was lying on the sofa, watching a DVD that she had popped into the machine earlier. Jill always had been a TV junkie. Sitting beside her on the ground was a humongous bowl of buttered popcorn.

Andria stepped into the room, eyeing the television. "I thought you had things to do, not watch..." she paused to pick up the DVD box set, "Heroes? What's it about?"

"It's about people who develop powers, and how they cope with it, then battle evil forces, blah blah blah." Jill said through a mouthful of popcorn.

"Sounds cool, but why exactly are you watching it? I thought you hated anything to do with the supernatural." Andria said, sitting down on the floor by Jill and the popcorn.

"I'm watching it to see what types of powers there are. I'm on season two right now, and they've introduced a hellova lot of powers."

"Name a few," Andria said, wanting to know more.

"Well, there's a guy who can paint the future and a girl who can _regenerate!_ She's my favourite. Oh, and there's a guy who can take the powers from people around him! Right now we're watching Matt Parkman." Jill said, obviously smart about the series. Maybe she didn't hate everything unreal after all. The scene faded into the picture of a hefty guy in a cop uniform, his hand slowly reaching towards his gun. "He does thought manipulation."

Andria got excited at the word thought. "Thought manipulation? What's that?" Andria asked.

"Basically, he can read people minds, but at the same time, he can put a thought into your head as well." Jill said it as if it was the simplest thing in the world.

"I'm not following you, Jill." Andria said, making no attempt to hide her confusion.

Jill sighed. "Say I was in this room and you were trying to find me and kill me. I could put a thought into your head that's telling you that I'm not here. Your mind would believe that as truth and would just picture this couch, without me on it. It can also make people do things against their will."

Andria shrugged. "Cool, I guess. Let's hope no one in the FAYZ has that." But then, a thought appeared to her. Her own thought. "I wonder if I can do that." Andria added, obviously joking. "Make me a sandwich..." she said, focusing her thoughts towards Jill bringing her the food.

Jill laughed and nodded her agreement. "Guess you're stuck with no powers, which is good. It's not really the 'putting thoughts into your mind' part that bugs me, it's the mind reading. I mean, as long as I'm not being told to jump off a cliff, it's okay, but if someone is reading my mind? That changes the _whole_ story."

_Damn,_ Andria thought towards her failure. _That would be a cool power upgrade_.

"Why? Do you have certain romantic fantasies about someone?" Andria said, angling her head to get a better view of Jill's face. It was flaming red, like a massive sun burn. She had struck something, and Jill's thoughts confirmed that.

Jill knew there was no point in hiding it. "Well, yeah. There is."

Andria fully turned around to see Jill. "So, what's his name?"

"His name is Sebastian! He went to Coates. He was on Caine's side, but he's got no powers. I'm pretty sure he went back to Coates." she said, getting a dreamy look. Boyfriends were a rarity for Jill, being an outcast like Andria.

"Ohhh... So that's why you wanted to come to Coates with me." Andria said, a slight smile playing on her face.

"Well... yeah, but I still want to find Austin."

"Hey... Jill?" Andria asked, a sadder tone in her voice.

"Yeah?"

Andria paused, forming the words in her mind. "What if... Austin _isn't_ at Coates?" she finally got out. She was going to add more, but Jill cut her off.

"Then we just have to look some more, silly!"

"No... I mean, what if something _happened_ to him... Something _bad._" Andria said, slowly. Jill finally took the hint.

"Andria! Don't think that way! We need to _think_ positive in our lives to _get _positive in our lives."

"Yeah, I guess you're right." Andria said, defeated. Jill's thoughts screamed positive at her, and it slowly absorbed into her.

Andria felt bad about lying to Jill, but if it got her to Coates, it didn't matter. The only reason she was lying to Jill about Austin's death was because Andria couldn't drive, and Jill could. If Jill didn't go... Well, it would be a long walk. Despite Jill's cluelessness, she was actually a pretty valuable person to Andria.

"So, we head out tomorrow?" Jill said, actually thinking that Austin could be found at Coates.

"Yeah, tomorrow."

Andria was excited, in a way, but she still couldn't help thinking—and dreading—about when she was going to tell Jill the truth.


End file.
